NASA Launches Space Shuttle on Final Flight to Space Station

Man i believe it's the last time before they finally shut down due to the BS wars we are in now. What do you guys think now?

Space shuttle Atlantis, delayed almost to the last second by a computer glitch, left the launch pad here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and made its way into the history books. After 135 flights in 30 years, it was the last space shuttle launch ever. And it was a spectacular sight to the estimated one million people who crowded around the space center to see it happen. The shuttle rose on a streak of flame that was almost blinding to see, going higher and higher and higher. Within a minute it punched a hole in the clouds above it and disappeared from sight, leaving a pillar of steam that slowly dissipated in Florida's muggy air. "We got to witness something really, really special and something amazing," said William H. Gerstenmaier, head of NASA's space operations. But it may be the last time America launches its own astronauts for many years. At the Kennedy Space Center, throngs of people applauded, cheered -- and in some cases wept. This part of Florida has lived in large part for space shuttle launches, and there is not a clear plan for what comes next. Atlantis' launch – a dramatic spectacle in any event – became a nail-biter as well. Controllers had less than five minutes in which to get it off the pad while its target, the International Space Station, was orbiting overhead. Clouds, which had loomed over the area all morning, parted just in time, and the countdown clock went into its final moments. But with just 31 seconds to go before liftoff – it suddenly stopped.

The problem turned out to be small: a sensor had failed to confirm that an access arm on the shuttle's gantry had safely retracted. Controllers solved the problem by going relatively low-tech: they looked at the arm through a television camera on the launch pad. But three tense minutes passed while controllers satisfied themselves there was no actual danger. If the wait had been longer, it would have forced an expensive two-day launch delay.

"I think we launched with 58 seconds left," said Mike Leinbach, the launch director. "That's an eternity as far as I'm concerned."

Atlantis is now on its way to a final rendezvous with the space station, scheduled for midday Sunday. Its mission sounds fairly mundane: it is carrying a year's worth of preserved food, clothing spare parts and other supplies for the station's six crew members. It is scheduled to land on July 20 at 7:06 a.m., ET.

And then it will become a museum piece; a new building is planned for it at the visitors' center here.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden released a bittersweet statement moments after Atlantis reached orbit:

"With today's final launch of the space shuttle we turn the page on a remarkable period in America's history in space, while beginning the next chapter in our nation's extraordinary story of exploration," Bolden said. "Tomorrow's destinations will inspire new generations of explorers, and the shuttle pioneers have made the next chapter of human spaceflight possible."

But the harsh reality is that America has not settled upon those future destinations. The Obama administration has proposed that NASA build a new, more powerful booster to take astronauts into deep space, perhaps to a passing asteroid. But the booster is several years from completion – and no asteroids have yet presented themselves as good targets.

In the meantime, NASA says the number of space workers here in Florida, which peaked at 15,000 people, will shrink to 8,200. Private companies have been invited to take over the job of ferrying astronauts to the space station, but none has yet put astronauts in orbit.

Bob Cabana, a former astronaut who now heads the Kennedy Space Center, tried to be encouraging today.

"Change is difficult," he said, "but you can't do something else, you can't do something better, without it.

abcnews.go.com...

reply to post by Paulioetc15


weird how this is its last flight. i don't think it's a money funding, since the federal reserve has no problem printing money from thin air. in the movie 2012 the main lead actor wrote a book called farewell atlantis. kinda odd. all the signs from the mivie are here.

Whats up with ats?

Man I'm searching and searching ats and this is all I find on the BS that nasa is selling to the masses... I'm really surprised you guys aren't all over this one...?

Lets see if I cant get things kicked off...

Nasa is telling the sheep that they are shutting down the shuttle program because of budget problems and that they are working on a deep space project that will launch sometime after we're all dead... and I'm not buying it.
After all they are under the umbrella of the defense dept. Like you can believe them... ha!

I think it's more like this.

The powers that be are tired of footing the bill for this Very expensive dog and pony show to keep john Q public in the dark while all the time the secret space program is where they want to put their focus and their deniro...
So we'll just keep john and jane public satisfied with reports of how the deep space program is going.. Oh and all those rocket launches yall see are just us testing new deep space thrusters.... When all the while it's just a cover for the secret space program launches.

Come on ats, one of the most historical programs is coming to an end and I for 1 think something stinks to high heaven about it... you dont???

The shuttle program is not achieving benefits equal to it's cost. It's time to shut it down.

Their new telescope that was just unfunded was 6 billion over budget. Nasa is a poorly run operation and the whole space industry needs to be privatized.

reply to post by kro32


That's what I'm talking about. Yep, put it in the realm of free market and watch the advances....

Still I'd give my right n$# to know what's really going on in space...